Law360 recently featured Partner Rakesh Kilaru in an article chronicling the accomplishments that led to his 2024 MVP for Sports & Betting recognition. This past year, Rakesh delivered major victories for the NCAA and NFL, confirming his standing as the first choice for clients facing the toughest and most consequential litigation in professional and college sports. Most recently, Rakesh surfaced as the architect of a groundbreaking settlement to a series of antitrust class action lawsuits brought by hundreds of thousands of current and former student-athletes challenging NCAA rules that limit student-athlete compensation and benefits. Preliminary approval of the $2.78 billion settlement, one of the largest and most consequential in sports and antitrust history, was granted on October 7, 2024. Rakesh also served as co-lead trial counsel for the NFL and its 32 member clubs in a class action lawsuit brought by residential and commercial subscribers of the NFL’s Sunday Ticket …
Law360 Selects Rakesh Kilaru as Sports & Betting MVP
October 22, 2024
Wilkinson Stekloff Partner Rakesh Kilaru has been recognized by Law360 as a 2024 MVP for Sports & Betting. Selected from more than 900 submissions, this year’s class of MVPs has distinguished themselves from their peers by securing hard-earned successes in high-stakes litigation, complex global matters, and record-breaking deals. Most recently, Rakesh served as the lead defense negotiator of a groundbreaking settlement, announced in May 2024, involving a series of antitrust class action lawsuits brought by hundreds of thousands of current and former student-athletes against the NCAA and the Autonomy Five collegiate athletic conferences. Seeking to revolutionize college sports, plaintiffs challenged NCAA rules that limit student-athlete compensation and benefits, including rules restricting student-athletes from the commercial use of their name, image, and likeness (“NIL”), as well as rules prohibiting professional-style revenue sharing. Preliminary approval of the $2.78 billion settlement, one of the largest and most consequential litigation settlements in sports and …
Law360 Recognizes Wilkinson Stekloff Among Top Five Firms in 2024 Pro Bono Ranking
October 16, 2024
Wilkinson Stekloff placed fifth nationally among firms with fewer than 100 attorneys in the 2024 Law360 Pulse Pro Bono Ranking. This is the third consecutive year the firm has been recognized among the top five in its size category. An essential component of Law360’s Social Impact Leaders rankings, the Pro Bono Ranking is based on several metrics including overall participation rate in pro bono activity. Wilkinson Stekloff has maintained a deep and lasting commitment to providing pro bono representation. Since its 2016 founding, the firm has handled more than 100 pro bono matters, with the vast majority of its attorneys devoting significant time across areas including family law, immigration, post-conviction representation, appeals, and filing amicus briefs. In addition to Law360 Pulse, Wilkinson Stekloff has been recognized by organizations including Chambers and Partners, Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll, DC Volunteer Lawyers Project, and the Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice for making this …
Law360 Features Beth Wilkinson and Rakesh Kilaru on the Firm’s Competition Practice Group of the Year Award
February 22, 2024
Law360 recently featured Founding Partner Beth Wilkinson and Partner Rakesh Kilaru in an article chronicling the groundbreaking trial victories that led to the firm’s Competition Practice Group of the Year recognition. In 2023 alone, Wilkinson Stekloff solidified its standing as the go-to firm for clients who want to litigate cases with an eye toward trial rather than settlement, serving as lead counsel in numerous bet-the-company cases for major clients including Microsoft, Altria, NCAA, NFL, and Cargill. When asked about what has driven their success, Beth and Rakesh said the answer goes well beyond just having expertise in competition law. The firm has been, and continues to be, focused on trial work. “And one thing that I think has become clear over the last two years in particular is that antitrust is where a lot of the trials are,” Rakesh noted. “It has to do with trial work, getting down to …
Law360 Recognizes Wilkinson Stekloff as Antitrust Practice Group of the Year
January 22, 2024
In recognition of the size, complexity, and significance of the litigation handled by the firm in 2023, Law360 has selected Wilkinson Stekloff among its Antitrust Practice Groups of the Year. Wilkinson Stekloff — dubbed “the legal equivalent of an elite special ops unit” by the American Lawyer — is redefining how businesses respond to antitrust matters. In 2023, the firm’s nimble team of renowned trial lawyers served as lead counsel in numerous complex, bet-the-company cases including:
Law360 Recognizes Wilkinson Stekloff Among Top Firms in 2023 Pro Bono Ranking
September 28, 2023
Wilkinson Stekloff recently placed third nationally among firms with fewer than 100 attorneys in the 2023 Law360 Pulse pro bono ranking. An essential component of Law360’s Social Impact Leaders rankings, the pro bono ranking is based on several metrics including overall participation rate in pro bono activity. In addition to its third-place ranking, Wilkinson Stekloff’s 86.1% attorney participation rate was the second highest participation rate noted in the firm’s size category. Pro bono representation is woven into Wilkinson Stekloff’s DNA. The firm has handled more than 100 pro bono matters since its 2016 founding, and the vast majority of the firm’s attorneys devote significant time to pro bono matters across areas including family law, immigration, post-conviction representation, appeals, and drafting amicus briefs. In addition to Law360, Wilkinson Stekloff has been recognized by organizations including Chambers and Partners, the Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll, and the Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice …
Bloomberg and Law360 Feature Wilkinson Stekloff’s Game-Changing Approach to High-Stakes Litigation
September 5, 2023
Demonstrating the firm’s standing as the leading trial litigation boutique in the country, recent press coverage chronicled Wilkinson Stekloff’s innovative trial strategies in articles examining the firm’s latest groundbreaking victories. In “Microsoft Lawyer’s 10-Day Race to Save the Biggest Gaming Deal,” Bloomberg recounts Founding Partner Beth Wilkinson’s successful defense of Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the second-biggest merger trial — and largest ever involving a technology company — in American history. Law360’s “How Monsanto Attys Turned Roundup Trial Losses Into Wins” details how Founding Partner Brian Stekloff’s pivotal trial strategy led to a string of victories on behalf of client Monsanto in high-stakes multidistrict litigation after three earlier trials had resulted in plaintiff verdicts ranging from $81 million to over $2 billion. Bloomberg outlines how Beth’s team defeated the FTC’s motion for a preliminary injunction just four weeks after the FTC filed its federal court complaint aimed at …
WS Honored by Law360 as Social Impact Leader
November 29, 2022
Law360 Pulse recently announced its 2022 Social Impact Leaders Ranking, and Wilkinson Stekloff scored second nationally among firms with fewer than 100 attorneys on the standalone pro bono list. The Social Impact Leaders ranking seeks to measure law firms’ engagement with social responsibility across five pillars: racial and ethnic diversity, gender equality, employee engagement, pro bono service, and responsible business practices. The pro bono pillar is broken out into a separate ranking to allow for more detailed comparison among peer firms, and the score is calculated based on three metrics: percentage of attorneys who provided at least 50 hours of free legal services, overall participation rate in pro bono activity, and average pro bono hours per attorney. While ranked second in its size category, WS posted the highest percentage of participating attorneys — 85.7% — besting the top-ranked firm. WS has innovated away from the billable-hour model, and its holistic …
Wilkinson Stekloff Welcomes New Class of Associates
December 7, 2021
Wilkinson Stekloff is pleased to announce the addition of eight associates. The new class is the largest and most diverse in the firm’s history. “Cases are won by teams who share different perspectives but are united by a common commitment to excellence. We are proud to have recruited some of the best and brightest young lawyers to form the largest and most diverse class Wilkinson Stekloff has had the privilege of welcoming since our founding in 2016,” said Beth Wilkinson, founding partner, Wilkinson Stekloff. “We are excited to have this talented group join our team,” added Wilkinson Stekloff Founding Partner Brian Stekloff. “Our attorneys appear in front of jury pools that represent all of America and our lawyers need to reflect that. It is critical for us to hire diverse attorneys and give them meaningful trial experience and client exposure.” The WS team reflects the firm’s ongoing commitment to talent …
Wilkinson Stekloff Partner Rakesh Kilaru Named Law360 Rising Star for Sports and Betting
June 21, 2021
Washington, D.C. – Wilkinson Stekloff Partner Rakesh Kilaru was named one of Law360’s 2021 Rising Stars–a lawyer under the age of 40 whose legal accomplishments “transcend his age.” Rakesh was selected out of more than 1,400 attorneys across the United States and is one of five recognized for exemplary work in the sports and betting industries. This latest award builds off Wilkinson Stekloff’s recent recognition as one of Law360’s Sports and Betting Groups of the year in 2020. In an interview with Law360, Kilaru discussed his involvement in every one of the firm’s sports litigation matters so far, representing the NCAA and the NFL. Rakesh noted the importance of focusing at all times on how “to sway the judge or jury,” while also keeping “in the back of your head how that will play on appeal.” Speaking about the skills he tries to bring to his clients, Rakesh added, “I’m …
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